Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
Often when I am preaching or teaching from God’s Word, I point out that we should always consider both sides of the word “but.” The passage that we have been studying, II Peter 3:8-9, begins with that conjunction of contrast. If we read the first seven verses of this chapter, we find that those who reject the promise of the return of Jesus are “scoffers” (verse 3) and “willingly…Ignorant” (verse 5). Perhaps you have heard of Robert Ingersoll, a famous atheist of the 1800’s, who received large speaking fees (up to $5,000!) to present his case for the non-existence of God. His final rhetorical flourish was to challenge God to strike him dead within five minutes. He would take out his pocket watch, set it on a table, and sit quietly for those five minutes. When the time ended, he would state that God does not exist. Mr. Ingersoll was obviously wrong in his conclusion. First, as verse 9 tells us, God is “not willing that any soul perish.” Ezekiel 33:11 says, “ ‘As I live,’saith the LORD God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn [repent!] from his way and live.’ “ Ingersoll wrongly saw his immediate death as God’s only option. Second, Ingersoll did eventually die. Hebrews 9:27 states, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” Death is a necessary result of our sin, but it is not “the judgment.” We cannot avoid death (with the exception of Christians alive at the Rapture, as well as Enoch and Elijah). However, we can avoid “the judgment” through faith in Jesus Christ, God the Son. Today may not be the day of death, but “now is the day of salvation” (II Corinthians 6:2).